Marriott Bonvoy just raised their Free Night Award top-up limit from 15,000 to 25,000 points — and this changes the math for their co-branded credit cards. If you’ve been writing off Marriott cards because those free night certificates felt too restrictive, it might be time to reconsider.

What This Actually Means

Here’s the math: Previously, if you had a 50,000-point free night certificate and wanted to book a 70,000-point property, you were out of luck. The 15,000-point top-up limit meant you could only book up to 65,000-point hotels.

Now, that same certificate can book properties costing up to 75,000 points. You’re looking at access to significantly more luxury properties — especially in expensive markets like NYC, London, and Tokyo where the best Marriott properties often price well above 65,000 points.

This still won’t get you into their top-tier properties, which tend to come in at over 80K points per night, but it does get you access to some of their mid-tier properties, and that’s a significant upgrade from before.

The Catch

You still need to have the points to top up. If you’re holding a 35,000-point certificate and want to book a 60,000-point property, you need 25,000 Marriott points in your account. The certificates aren’t suddenly worth more, they just have more flexibility.

Also worth noting: this doesn’t solve Marriott’s fundamental award chart inflation. A 25,000-point top-up gets you further, but you’re still dealing with a program that’s consistently devaluing.

Bottom Line

Marriott’s 25,000-point top-up limit transforms their free night certificates from restrictive to genuinely useful.

This doesn’t make Marriott the best transfer partner overnight, but it does make their co-branded cards worth considering again — especially if you’re already in their ecosystem or have upcoming stays that could benefit from this.

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